Sgt. 1st Class Donald Wayne Eacho
Born Dec. 26, 1966
Died Mar. 4, 2005 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq
Donald shared the same his father had, so his family called him “L.D.”, short for Little Donald. L. D. grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as a good, responsible kid, but mischievous. Frequently seen reading books on the military, there was no doubt that when he grew up, he would join the military. And he did about a year after he graduated from high school, never expressing any desire to leave it. He so much loved serving his country and its people. In his military photos, he looked tough, but those who knew him knew better; he was a teddy bear on the inside. Stationed in Germany for a time, his participation in war games showed how well he could pick off the enemy. In 2003, he came upon a terrible car accident while driving in Pennsylvania. He climbed through the broken auto window and rescued a four-year-old girl, then came back and rescued her grandfather. Both of these accomplished while the other vehicle involved was ablaze. His heroism earned him the Soldier’s Medal from the United States Army. His mother told him he was crazy. He said that what soldier’s do. Donald deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat team from Fort Carson. While there he rescued an Iraqi woman who had been tied to a tree by the enemy, recovered a hit list, shared care packages from home with his fellow soldiers and gave teddy bears to Iraqi children. On March 4, Donald was killed along with Capt. Sean Grimes, Cpl. Stephen M. McGowan and Spc. Wade Michael Twyman when an I.E.D. detonated near their vehicle. His parents; his wife Bonnie and two children, Donald and Matthew, survived Donald. Donald had last seen his mother over Thanksgiving weekend. He was a big coffee drinker, she wasn’t. So he made frequent trips out for coffee. After he left she went out and bought a coffee pot; Donald was such a good soldier that she was sure he’d be coming home again and she wanted to be ready for him. Matthew was not Donald’s biological son and was 17 years old in 2005. Matthew wrote about his stepfather, “You took me into your heart and loved me unconditionally. I loved the way you had pride in everything you did. You are an idle to me.”
SFC Donald W. Eacho was buried in Brookside Cemetery in Watertown, NY, where his wife and family live.
The Sgt. 1st Class Donald Wayne Eacho by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
